legislation
Business
11:46AM Nick Broughall | Somebody get me some popcorn: This could get very messy. Today Senator Conroy announced that the Rudd government has made some pretty major changes to telecommunications laws that will require Telstra to structurally separate its wholesale and retail businesses. And if they don’t do it voluntarily, the government’s going to bring the pain… More »
Government To Force Telstra To Structurally Separate Wholesale And Retail
11:46AM Nick Broughall | Somebody get me some popcorn: This could get very messy. Today Senator Conroy announced that the Rudd government has made some pretty major changes to telecommunications laws that will require Telstra to structurally separate its wholesale and retail businesses. And if they don’t do it voluntarily, the government’s going to bring the pain… More » 
Phones
FCC Asked to Get Carriers to Hurry Up Local Number Portability Already
7:30AM Gizmodo US Edition | With all the advances in technology we’ve had over the last couple of decades, you’d think that something as simple as changing your land line number into a cellular one would take hours at most. At least Congress does, and its now urging the FCC to put rules in place that will speed up local number portability processing. More »
Phones
Should Congress Ban Mobile Phone Calls on US Flights?
8:30AM Sean Fallon | Europe may be ok with passengers making in-flight calls on their mobile phones, but at least a few members of Congress have the foresight to see how this situation could become problematic in the US. A new bill has been introduced that promises to ban mobile phone calls on US flights, but not text messaging and web surfing. The bill has yet to be passed, but the question is: Do you support a ban? More »
Announcements
1:04PM Nathan Taylor | We’re considering renaming South Australia the wowser state. Soon after its Attorney General revealed that he would scotch the chance to finally introduce an R18+ rating for games in this country, we’ve learned that the SA government is introducing new legislation to stop what it calls “indecent filming”.
Indecent filming in this context means the filming of “private acts” without a person’s consent or knowledge. It also includes upskirting with mobile phones and hidden cameras in bedrooms and bathrooms. A maximum penalty of up to $10,000 and two years in jail applies.
More »
No More Upskirting for South Australia
1:04PM Nathan Taylor | We’re considering renaming South Australia the wowser state. Soon after its Attorney General revealed that he would scotch the chance to finally introduce an R18+ rating for games in this country, we’ve learned that the SA government is introducing new legislation to stop what it calls “indecent filming”.
Indecent filming in this context means the filming of “private acts” without a person’s consent or knowledge. It also includes upskirting with mobile phones and hidden cameras in bedrooms and bathrooms. A maximum penalty of up to $10,000 and two years in jail applies.
More »
Press
11:41AM Nick Broughall | Am I the only person that still can’t get used to Peter Garrett as a politician? Everytime I see him speak I picture him dancing in the Beds are burning video clip, and wonder how anyone could ever take him seriously.
Still, he’s announced a pretty encouraging energy star rating for all home appliances, including plasma TVs and computers. All new products will have to adhere to the 10-star energy efficiency rating system, prominently displaying just how energy efficient the product is.
The rating system is likely to start next year with whitegoods like fridges and dishwashers once the design has been worked out and approved, and rolled over into other consumer electronics like TVs and PCs by April next year.
It’s a good move – plasmas in particular are notoriously power hungry
and can double a monthly electricity bill. Having aa uniform star
rating on all new flat panel TVs will not only help you save money on
electricity, but will also force manufacturers to put even more effort
into making their products more energy efficient.
[SMH]
More »
How Green Is Your Plasma? The Government Thinks You Should Know
11:41AM Nick Broughall | Am I the only person that still can’t get used to Peter Garrett as a politician? Everytime I see him speak I picture him dancing in the Beds are burning video clip, and wonder how anyone could ever take him seriously.
Still, he’s announced a pretty encouraging energy star rating for all home appliances, including plasma TVs and computers. All new products will have to adhere to the 10-star energy efficiency rating system, prominently displaying just how energy efficient the product is.
The rating system is likely to start next year with whitegoods like fridges and dishwashers once the design has been worked out and approved, and rolled over into other consumer electronics like TVs and PCs by April next year.
It’s a good move – plasmas in particular are notoriously power hungry
and can double a monthly electricity bill. Having aa uniform star
rating on all new flat panel TVs will not only help you save money on
electricity, but will also force manufacturers to put even more effort
into making their products more energy efficient.
[SMH]
More » 